Mitchell Roundhand Nibs

[Blotbot]

I was just looking at these in the John Neal catalog.  They are said to be flexible, and look like broad edge nibs.  Maybe similar to a quill?  Has anyone used them?  Can the be used for copperplate?

[Moya]

Hi Ellen,

The Mitchell Roundhand ones are broad edge, you're right. They can't be used as pointed pens, but they are quite flexible, especially the thinner ones - I am sure they could be used for a form of copperplate.  In a different thread (the one about changes in the turn of the letter) there are some examples of English Roundhand that was done with a (narrow) broad nib, and I've been meaning to try it...

I think you'd have better luck sticking to pointed nibs for Copperplate (what we now call English Roundhand) but I always think it's worth experimenting.

[AndyT]

I thought that the flexible broad nibs were intended for introducing just a little width variation in lettering which would look lifeless without - adding entasis to Roman caps for instance.  But come to think of it there's nothing to stop you taking a fine one and grinding it even thinner, which would indeed approximate a quill.  Huh - hadn't considered that before.